This invention relates to a method for processing of a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material, more particularly to a method for processing of a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material which is capable of forming a cyan dye image excellent in storage stability during storage over a long term, even when the step of washing with water may be omitted.
Generally speaking, color photoraphic images can be formed after imagewise exposure of a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material, by color developing the image with a color developer containing an aromatic primary amine developing agent such as p-phenylenediamine, and subsequently applying processings of bleaching, fixing, washing with water and stabilizing on the developed image. In the above processing procedures, in order to expedite the processings, bleach-fixing processing is generally practiced, which performs bleaching and fixing processings at the same time.
The color photographic images obtained according to such processing steps are stored for a long term as recording, and during the storage term, undesirable phenomena such as color fading or discoloration will frequently be caused by the influences from humidity in the air, temperature and light.
The stabilizing processing in the above processing steps is a processing required particularly for enhancement of the stability during storage over a long term of the aforesaid color photographic images. These methods for stabilizing process are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,647,057; 2,788,274; 2,913,338; 3,667,952; 3,676,136; 2,515,121; 2,518,686; 3,140,177; 3,291,606; and 3,093,479l; Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 8779/1962, 5735/1973 and 32369/1973; Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 107736/1974; and German Pat. Nos. DT-1770074, DT-1919045 and DT-2218387.
However, according to any method of these disclosures, while a slight effect can be recognized on stabilization of the color photographic image, the effect obtained cannot be satisfactory at all. Since stabilizing processing of the prior art has been practiced with a bath constituted of a single tank which is suitable for processing within a short period of time, it has not been possible to attempt to reduce the pollution load or reduce the amount of water.
Further, stabilizing processing wherein the step of washing with water is omitted is also known as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,004. However, this method is a silver stabilizing processing with a thiocyanate and a large amount of sulfite is contained in the stabilizing bath. Therefore, the image dye formed is liable to be converted to a leuco form to have great influences on deterioration of the color photographic images.
Further, as the method in which the water washing step is omitted or the amount of washing water is extremely reduced, there have been proposed the multi-stage countercurrent stabilizing processing technique as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8543/1982 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,324 and a processing technique with the use of a stabilizing solution containing a bismuth complex as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 134636/1983 corresponding to application Ser. No. 460,988 file date Jan. 25, 1983.
In either of these cases, while it is a technique to reduce the amount of stabilizing solution supplemented in continuous processing, the fixing agent and the soluble silver complex salt in the stabilizing solution will be increased by the fixing solution carried over with the photographic material to be processed if the amount of the stabilizing solution supplemented is reduced extremely, whereby stability of the cyan dye to light (light fading characteristic) was found to be lowered. This phenomenon may be prevented by increasing the number of stabilizing tanks, by employment of a multi-stage countercurrent system, by use of increased amount of stabilizing solution supplemented and by provision of a large volume of washing water between the fixing solution and the stabilizing solution. However, these measures are not advantageous from the standpoint of compaction of the processing instrument and protection of water resources. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a stabilizing processing technique which is more compact and small in the amount of stabilizing solution supplemented.